Owl celebrates his 10th birthday

By Elizabeth Hunter

A "good-natured" tawny owl has celebrated his 10th birthday in adorable new photos.

Tony the Tawny Owl was born 10 years ago at the Scottish Owl Center, West Lothian, and was hand-reared by staff after his mother abandoned her eggs midway through nesting.

Keeper Trystan Williams acted quickly, incubating the eggs and raising the chick himself - and now, a decade on, Tony has become one of the center's most reliable and beloved birds.

"Tony was born at the owl center - one of the reasons he's so special to us is because he's one of the first owls that was bred here," said Trystan.

"His mom abandoned the eggs halfway through incubation, so I rushed him into an incubator and managed to hatch him out and hand-rear him.

"Even though it's the most common owl in the UK, they're actually quite difficult to breed in captivity, so we're really proud that we've managed to bring him through.

"Of course, by then, he'd imprinted, so now he thinks he's a little human!

"He's part of our flying team, so he flies in our arena and he's very good - he finishes off the display.

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"We know we can always rely on him - if there's another bird that's dropped out, we can always rely on Tony to step in."

Tony participates in flying displays, meet and greets with visitors, and trips to schools to introduce children to the owls.

The bird has also gained fame across the center's social media accounts - with fans eager to hear new updates about Tony's antics.

Staff at the Scottish Owl Centre said Tony was rewarded with extra mice as a birthday treat on Sunday, May 25, and he was even been given a special card to celebrate the occasion.

"He's a really good-natured owl," said Trystan.

"He's a very helpful owl in everything we do here - he's very popular on social media as well.

"He's a very inquisitive bird and likes to see everything that's going on.

"I think we should get him some extra mice!

"We're really pleased to have had a decade with Tony."